On February 26th 2012 at the Saitama Super Arena in Tokyo, the UFC will make its much-anticipated return to Japan. Two VF ELITE Sports Agency fighters Leonard “BADBOY” Garcia and Bart “BARTIMUS” Palaszewski will be fighting that night with hopes for a big win. “The Land of the Rising Sun” will finally host a UFC event and VF Elite sports agency is proud to contribute to the evening’s matches.

New to the Featherweight division Bart Palaszewski is coming off of a big TKO stoppage against UFC journeyman Tyson Griffin. Bart is looking to make another statement in the Octagon when he faces off against #3 pound for pound Featherweight fighter Japanese national Hatsu Hioki. “I feel a win against Hioki will break me into the top 5 in FW division. As of right now this is the biggest fight of my career,” said Bart. Being one of the few Japanese fighters on the UFC 144 card Hioki will have a huge amount of fan support behind him as he faces of against “Bartimus”.

Leonard Garcia is coming off of a tough decision loss to Nam Phan in which he was awarded “Fight Of The Night” for his efforts. His next opponent is the relatively unknown and very dangerous “Mongolian Wolf” Tiequan Zhang. Leonard Garcia is known for his ability to stand and trade punches with anyone put in front of him, and with Tiequan’s history of submission finishes this could be a scramble for the centuries. About his upcoming fight Leonard stated “ I’m excited to fight in Japan, and also facing a tough opponent who comes to fight, I couldn’t ask for anything better”.

This will be the biggest MMA event in Japan since the closing of Pride Fighting, which at one point was the largest fighting organization in the world. There will be one title fight that evening, and it will feature Frankie Edgar Vs Benson Henderson. The winner of the lightweight title match in Japan could meet another VF ELITE Sports Agency fighter Donald “COWBOY” Cerrone depending on how Cowboys match VS Nate Diaz plays out on New Years in Las Vegas NV at UFC 141.

Stay tuned to the UFC and VF ELITE Sports Agency social media destinations for more news and information on VF Elite’s star studded roster.